Be Still And Know: Into Another Year

Here we are in January again, and another year has begun. We're in a new house in a new neighbourhood, and we have another little boy to love and to cuddle and to train up in the Way he should go. Our two older boys have grown so much - last year Aaron was just starting to crawl, and Peter was just starting to learn how to sit still in church and put sentences together. A lot can happen in a year!
We've settled back into the swing of things after the busy busy holiday season. We were away from home for two weeks for different family get-togethers and when the bathroom was being renovated. It was so nice to be back home again! The kids enjoy getting back to normal as well. The older two boys have been having fun playing outside in the snow. It doesn't always last a long time, especially for Aaron as he has a hard time doing anything with his little mittened hands, and he gets stuck occasionally in the snow. Most of the time, I have to rescue him, bawling, from a far corner of the yard where he's decided he can't move anymore and he's just too cold to have any more fun. Peter enjoys it much more, playing in the snow with his loaders and dump trucks, although he'd rather have Aaron out there with him to keep him company. The two of them can be pretty mischievous together. Aaron is really developing his vocabulary, putting words together and communicating with us quite effectively. He sings along with us when we pray with him at night, he's patching words into sentences, and although he often sounds like his mouth is full of marbles when he talks, we can understand a lot of what he says. It is so fun to watch kids learn and grow! The two boys continue to adore their little brother. They enthusiastically greet Nathaniel in the morning, and regularly shower him with kisses, hugs, and way more toys and stuffed animals than a little four month old knows what to do with. Aaron wants to pick him up, and Peter likes to comfort him when he's sad. It's kind of funny to listen to the things Peter says and how he acts around Nate when he's upset, because you can tell that he's been watching and listening to his Mom. Nate is such a smiley, happy baby, and such a pleasure to have around. He loves to be held, talked to, kissed, and snuggled - and I love to dole it out! He's a strong little guy who loves to stand up and exercise those legs. He has a doctor's appointment next week and I am eager to find out what he weighs - I'm guessing around 18 lbs. There's no way he fits into the clothes a normal 4 month old would - he's very tall for his age and he's wearing 9 or 12 month clothes. The other boys were also big for their age. I don't know how much longer we can keep him in his infant carrier, which is unfortunate because it's handy to have a portable carseat for little ones, especially in the winter months. He was sleeping through the night before the holidays, but since I last posted, he has been getting up at least twice a night to eat. Too bad! But there's not much to complain about, because although I need to get up to feed him, he almost always goes right back to sleep again until he's up for the day around 7:30 or 8. I'm hoping to start him on some cereal soon. I know it's a little early, but he's a big boy and developmentally he seems to be ahead of the crowd, and I think he could handle a few extra calories and something heavier in his tummy. I've been thankful to be able to nurse him so far, and hope to be able to keep that up for a while yet with help from some supplements I've been taking. So nice not to have to deal with mixing formula, heating it up and washing all those bottles, although I wouldn't mind a bit of freedom now and then.
The last time I did an update I also said that I was sleeping better than I had in a long time. Seems as soon as I posted that, my sleeping abilities took a turn for the worse again. It's pretty frustrating not to be able to get to sleep when everone else in the house is sawing logs. I can't take a lot to deal with insomnia since I am still nursing, so I am trying to balance things out with vitamins to see if that can help. Maybe if I post a blog about how I can't sleep at night, it'll get better again. Yeah I know, that's ridiculous but it's worth a shot.
Anyways. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Peter and his garbage truck